When, through the mysterious concurrence of external and internal causes, the individual directs all his energies toward the Buddha, and the Buddha turns to that person, there occurs the awakening of the mind that aspires to enlightenment (bodhicitta) and to follow the Way of the Buddha and the path of spiritual discipline (bodhicitta-utpāda). It is the moment of “conversion” or great resolution, in which the bodhisattva, sustained by faith in enlightenment, takes great vows and is ready to set out on the path, to begin the journey of pāramitā practice.
A Buddhist Kaleidoscope; Riccardo Venturini, A Buddha Teaches Only Bodhisattvas, Page 333